1950's PROJECT CARS. Love them or leave them? (NOT MINE)

[f.f.jones]

Here's a selction of project cars all from the same decade, all priced relatively close, and all needing varying degrees of effort (and $$) to "bring them to the next level".

They are all currently for sale on Craigslist.

Compare what you see (and don't see) and comment.

Would you consider purchasing any of them if they were for sale in your area? Would you rebuild/repair/restore any of them? Are any worth the time and expense to make them reliable drivers , much less restoration candidates? Since they are all priced within a few hundred dollars of eachother, do you think there are values here or just  pipedreams?

Click on the cl listing for more photos of each vehicle.

 

 

58 Chrysler Saratoga 2 Dr. Hdtp - $4,995 (Wenatchee WA)

Very Restorable Project ... Very Litle Rust ... I cannot stress the Importance of NOT Starting with a RUST BUCKET ...
354 Wedge and COMPLETE under the Hood .... Complete Trim and Interior .... The Windshield is broken ... Car was Factory Undercoated Under the Body AND The Interior Floor Boards! ... The Engine does not turn But Ran when I bought 31 years ago ... Car has ben under cover since 1973 This is 1 of the numerous Projects I cannot get to ... Your DREAM Car Awaits YOU.

https://wenatchee.craigslist.org/cto/d/wenatchee-58-chrysler-saratoga-dr-hdtp/7502543971.html

 

1957 Buick Special 2-Door - $4,900 (Enumclaw WA)

1957 Buick Special 2-Door: all stock, doesn't run, has rust in floorboards but those can be ordered. $4900

https://seattle.craigslist.org/skc/cto/d/black-diamond-1957-buick-special-door/7495614838.html

 

 

53 Chevrolet Sedan Delivery - $4,750 ( Folsom CA)

1953 Chevy Sedan Delivery, The car was disassembled, the body was stripped to bare metal, primered, then minor rust repairs were done, that's about as far as it went, Inside floors look great, but do need 2 patches up front still, No engine or trans, There are a ton of parts in the back, Some are new, Fuel tank boiled and sealed, A great car to take in the direction of your choice, Has a California title,

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/d/diamond-springs-53-chevrolet-sedan/7502461080.html

 

 

1955 Pontiac Wagon - $3,800 (Woodland CA)

Super Cool Original Pontiac wagon, great builder Great price! Needs floors but no other rust! Not running, needs to be towed. Can help for a price. Rare wagon.. Serious only, thanks..

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/d/woodland-1955-pontiac-wagon/7500715301.html

 

 

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner - $4,500 (Sacramento)

One of 16,000 produced between 1953 and 1954.

Also one of the first 4,000 (arguably) with the original
TriStar hood emblem prior to change so it's not to conflict with Mercedes-Benz.

The car underwent a 5 year full mechanical restoration two owners ago and more than a decade ago and was left on blocks in the backyard after that owner passed away with less than 60 miles on the new drivetrain.

Was then purchased from the estate by an associate who put it back up to speed and on the road at which point it was driving beautifully however had a half done electrical system. It was then semi disassembled in order to detail and repaint the engine compartment and start the 6 volt to 12 volt conversion.

Events occurred leading the project to be shelved without completion as is how it stands to date.

Mechanical restoration as stated above include full engine rebuild (factory232 v-8).
Complete transmission and overdrive rebuild.
Suspension and steering rebuild and replacement. Including steering box.
Complete brake system overhaul nut and bolt.

Understand that while everything has been gone through and done new, and it did drive very well a year or so ago, but work was done over a decade ago. Car was refreshed just over a year ago and many things will probably need re-addressing as a result of sitting.

There are boxes of parts and many duplicates of parts and anything seen missing in the photos is in those boxes with the exception of the only thing not found was the front beltline trim just underneath the windshield.
Gage console is out of a 1955 Studebaker presidential for reasons unknown.
Rear view mirror is believed to be out of a 65 rambler station wagon.

All latches hinges window regulators door operation and window operations including trunk and hood latch operate very well and easily as they should. The floor boards are rusted.

This is a project car in need of completion and is not functioning at the moment.
Do not expect to come and hear it run.

https://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/d/sacramento-1953-studebaker-commander/7492157603.html

Edited June 30, 2022 by f.f.jones (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

I like the Studebaker and the sedan delivery. Prices seem reasonable for California cars.

[Gearheadengineer]

All of them are cool cars. I’m liking that Pontiac wagon. (And the Ford Unibody pickup in the background of some pics in the ad). The wagon needs everything but it could be a fun project. Of course I would negotiate the price - by a lot. 

The Buick and Chrysler are way overpriced. 
 

[The 55er]

In the interest of keeping this thread alive, I'll add a few comments. Cars that have been parked outdoors in junkyard settings for many years (or decades) have always been a big turn-off for me. I saw enough of them back in the 70s & 80s when many salvage yards were still routinely towing them in. There was usually a major issue with each one of them like a seized engine, inoperable tranny, trashed interior or a very rusty body & frame. Back then they were $200-$300 projects nobody wanted that already had one foot in the crusher and were well on their way to becoming tuna fish cans. Today in the eyes of the sellers, these crusty rusty non-runners are highly sought-after collectors items. It's been said on these Forums many times that folks restoring cars should buy the best car they can afford. IMO none of these $3800-$4995 vehicles fit the bill. I say leave all five of em, they might be $800-$1200 cars at best. And that's to the right person that may or may not come along. 

[daniel boeve]

If I had to take one car it would be the pontiac .It says needs floors and no other rust .Thats more than I want when you talk about rust .When i hear or see rust I run away as fast as i can .

[B Jake Moran]

6 hours ago, The 55er said:

In the interest of keeping this thread alive, I'll add a few comments. Cars that have been parked outdoors in junkyard settings for many years (or decades) have always been a big turn-off for me. I saw enough of them back in the 70s & 80s when many salvage yards were still routinely towing them in. There was usually a major issue with each one of them like a seized engine, inoperable tranny, trashed interior or a very rusty body & frame. Back then they were $200-$300 projects nobody wanted that already had one foot in the crusher and were well on their way to becoming tuna fish cans. Today in the eyes of the sellers, these crusty rusty non-runners are highly sought-after collectors items. It's been said on these Forums many times that folks restoring cars should buy the best car they can afford. IMO none of these $3800-$4995 vehicles fit the bill. I say leave all five of em, they might be $800-$1200 cars at best. And that's to the right person that may or may not come along. 

I appreciate your viewpoint. I’m 58. I saw many interesting cars in junkyards and such for $500 to $1000.  All are gone.  It’s stupid to chase 2 door cars offered for $5,000.  
 

I saw a 1973 Camaro Z28 on Facebook for $1400 or offer.  Ragged out, sure.  No motor or transmission but it’s a 73 Z28.  Legit.  And an original 4 speed car.  Lots of fun to restore and bring back to life.  Rare to see today.  Iconic early 70s car I grew up lusting for.   
 

So, restoring a car rather then buying a restored or nice original car for $20,000 has its place in the hobby.   Putting a cool car back together- whether from the 20s or 80s is still a fun hobby-endeavor.   Just a different perspective.   
 

Still, these non running project cars for $5,000??? I’m NOT in. For regular fun cars like those noted. 

Edited July 1, 2022 by B Jake Moran (see edit history)

[Jim Skelly]

No thanks to every one of them.  Life's too short, none are anything special even when restored, and you would never be able to sell one for half of what you would have sunk into it.  Back in the mid 1960s, our family would occasionally go to a local ice cream outlet to buy ice cream cones.  Dad, my brother and I would walk over to the used car lot a few doors away and look at the used cars from the 1950s.  The "good" cars were usually around $125.  The ones in the back rows were $75.  This sorry bunch of cars would have been perfect for that car lot.

[1912Staver]

On 6/30/2022 at 4:23 PM, B Jake Moran said:

I appreciate your viewpoint. I’m 58. I saw many interesting cars in junkyards and such for $500 to $1000.  All are gone.  It’s stupid to chase 2 door cars offered for $5,000.  
 

I saw a 1973 Camaro Z28 on Facebook for $1400 or offer.  Ragged out, sure.  No motor or transmission but it’s a 73 Z28.  Legit.  And an original 4 speed car.  Lots of fun to restore and bring back to life.  Rare to see today.  Iconic early 70s car I grew up lusting for.   
 

So, restoring a car rather then buying a restored or nice original car for $20,000 has its place in the hobby.   Putting a cool car back together- whether from the 20s or 80s is still a fun hobby-endeavor.   Just a different perspective.   
 

Still, these non running project cars for $5,000??? I’m NOT in. For regular fun cars like those noted. 

 

Unfortunately in my area those restored cars are $40,000.00 and up ( well up }. Not $20,000.00. You could sell 20, $1400.00 , 4 speed car, 73 Z28's in a weekend around here. Needy 79, 80, 81 Z runners  are $20,000.00 in this neck of the woods.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[supercub]

Those cars would have to be priced at $2,000 to get any takers in today's crowd.

[Crusty Trucker]

On 7/1/2022 at 12:31 PM, Jim Skelly said:

No thanks to every one of them.  Life's too short, none are anything special even when restored, and you would never be able to sell one for half of what you would have sunk into it.  Back in the mid 1960s, our family would occasionally go to a local ice cream outlet to buy ice cream cones.  Dad, my brother and I would walk over to the used car lot a few doors away and look at the used cars from the 1950s.  The "good" cars were usually around $125.  The ones in the back rows were $75.  This sorry bunch of cars would have been perfect for that car lot.

I don't know where you grew up, Jim, but where I lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area in the early to mid 1960's, used car prices were a little different. All through high school I worked as the "lot boy" at my uncle's used car lot. His inventory consisted of mechanically and/or cosmetically challenged 50's cars, purchased for a few hundred dollars or less, brought back to life under the shade tree in the back of the lot. He also bought cars and light trucks from the telephone company, various state and county departments, insurance auctions. and private parties, painting, reparing and cleaning as necessary. I'm not saying he didn't know all the tricks of the day, but he established a well respected business and served many repeat customers. His prices were fair, considering the time, parts and labor that went into them to make them serviceable once again. I don't recall any car priced below $300. (approx. $3000. in 2022) and most were $500. to $700. range ($4800. to $6800 today) with quite a few "cherries"  bringing around $1000. The price of new base models of the "low-priced-three" were under $2000 (Falcon, Corvair...) in 1960.

Had there been local competetion selling "front line " used cars for $125 within fifty miles, my uncle would never have survived in business, much less accumulated multiple outlets arouund the town based on his particular mode of operation.

( I, for one, would have been a full-time "flipper" at 16 had there been a supply of $75 to $125 dollar cars, 10 years old or less, in my town. Even the wreckers didn't sell them that cheap). 

 

Maybe it all boils down to location, population and demand - just like today. By the way, "project cars", as now defined, are a recently invented catagory of cars and trucks of interest to collectors, restorers, and hot rodders. Back in the '60's we called them "junkers". Go figure!

 

P.S.  Just for information's sake, where was that above referenced "bargan lot" located?

 

 

 

  

[Jim Skelly]

I grew up in Dearborn and the lot was called Steinmiller's in Garden City, a few miles west of Dearborn.  Being in the salt belt, the cars were rusted out.  I don't know what the mechanical condition of any of these cars were, but we enjoyed looking at these once-nice cars.  The place was eventually taken over by a guy named Paul Hatton, who did incredible paint and flames work.  One time he had a black '59 Impala hardtop with orange and red flames on the front fenders and hood for sale in the front row.  It's too bad I didn't have a camera with me.  It was of Autorama quality and very tastefully done.  He eventually moved his shop to River Rouge.  I decided to stop in and check it out.  I mentioned the Impala and he said it had a 348 and 4-speed!  The guy who bought it wrecked the front end and he had been trying to buy it back for years.  According to this website, he worked on the S/C Hurst Rambler Americans.

 

  Paul Hatton - Kustomrama

[Crusty Trucker]

On 7/4/2022 at 6:18 AM, Jim Skelly said:

I grew up in Dearborn and the lot was called Steinmiller's in Garden City, a few miles west of Dearborn.  Being in the salt belt, the cars were rusted out.  I don't know what the mechanical condition of any of these cars were, but we enjoyed looking at these once-nice cars.  The place was eventually taken over by a guy named Paul Hatton, who did incredible paint and flames work.  One time he had a black '59 Impala hardtop with orange and red flames on the front fenders and hood for sale in the front row.  It's too bad I didn't have a camera with me.  It was of Autorama quality and very tastefully done.  He eventually moved his shop to River Rouge.  I decided to stop in and check it out.  I mentioned the Impala and he said it had a 348 and 4-speed!  The guy who bought it wrecked the front end and he had been trying to buy it back for years.  According to this website, he worked on the S/C Hurst Rambler Americans.

 

  Paul Hatton - Kustomrama

 

Thanks for the location information. Never having lived in the rust belt, it's hard to imagine a relatively new car disintegrating before your very eyes. All of our local California cars were quite solid body-wise, even those that ended up in the wrecking yard. At an average, mileage was around 10,000 miles a year and very often much less, so, by 1960, finding a low milage, dependable and presentable '50's car was not a chore, and at a very attractive price. That certainly accounts for the difference in prices regionally. 

Over the course of the '50's and '60's, my father drove his Buicks to work and back a total of 15 miles a day, six days a week. That's 4500 miles a year. Sunday church and "drives in the country" as well as a week camping in the mountains, barely added to that. This was not an unusual situation long before extended commutes became the norm (freeways, etc).

I am always surprised to find relatively new cars today with amazingly high mileage due the distances people live from where they work and play.

[Jim Skelly]

It was not uncommon for a four-year-old car to be rusted out here.  The doors on a coworker's '70 Mustang Boss 302 were rusting out in 1974.  Another coworker's '79 Capri had the front lip of the hood rusting out in 1983.  Some of us referred to the first generation Mustangs as Rustangs around here.  It was the same thing with the bottoms of the front fenders on '70 Chevelles, and many cars rusted out above the headlights on the late 1950s cars. 

 

On my vacation to Texas in 1989, I stopped at a junkyard in Little Rock, Arkansas.  On top of another car was a '71 442 in the common Bittersweet color.  There wasn't any rust on it and people here in Michigan would have paid big money for it.  All I could figure was the powertrain was shot.  I didn't have any practical way of getting it shipped home. 

 

With the plastic bumpers on today's cars, they rust out above the bumpers since moisture and salt get trapped there.  Two-sided galvanized metal has substantially prolonged the life of car bodies, but they haven't treated the undercarriage areas (wheelhouses, floorpan, trunk floor) adequately with galvanized metal and rustproofing.